During the holiday season, evergreen plants adorn houses all over the world. For the northern climates, the outside can be dreary, cold and devoid of life. Decorations of green-leaved plants and bright red berries add spark and life to our homes. Through generations of tradition, decorative plants such as holly, mistletoe and occasionally the yew plant provide a backdrop that helps bring the holiday feeling alive. Read more »
How you would like your child’s school year to start out something like this: It is a typical day during lunchtime at the local elementary school cafeteria. A kindergartner with a severe peanut allergy trades lunch with a friend. Little does he know, the shared cookie contains peanut butter. The child develops a red rash, swelling around the eyes and has some trouble breathing within minutes of eating the cookie. Pretty scary, right? The good news, schools are now better equipped to deal with life-threatening allergic reactions such as this thanks to the passage of new legislation which allows the stocking and administration of epinephrine auto-injectors (commonly referred to as Epi-pens™) in Illinois schools. Read more »
For the second time this year, the DEA will coordinate a collaborative effort with state and local law enforcement agencies to remove potentially dangerous controlled substances from our nation’s medicine cabinets. Collection activities will take place October 29, 2011, from 10:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m. at sites established throughout the country. The National Take-Back Day provides an opportunity for the public to surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications for destruction. These drugs are a potential source of supply for illegal use and an unacceptable risk to public health and safety.Read more »
How many times have you squealed aloud after discovering your child has recently delved into what they believe to be a culinary delight but you know to be just plain gross?
While getting outside to allow your brood some time to release excess energy is the primary goal, it may lead to unexpected, and often quite disgusting ingestions. Read more »
Did you know we were in the middle of snake biting season? No we’re not suggesting that people are biting snakes this time of year, but snakes are indeed biting people. During the months of May-October, more snake bite incidents are recorded in the U.S. than any other time of the year. Considering we are in peak season, addressing this issue now seemed timely; just in case you and your family plan to go hiking or camping soon. Read more »
The anti-drug laws in the U.S. define a drug as illicit by its structure, and not necessary by the effects the drug causes. “Designer drug” is a term used to describe drugs that are created and/or marketed to get around existing drug laws. Most commonly, this is accomplished by modifying the molecular structure of an illegal drug to create another similar, yet subtly different structure that has similar effects but is not defined as illegal. Read more »
The Illinois Poison Center has much to be thankful for.
The IPC is very grateful for the support that readers of our blog, Facebook page members, educators, volunteers, Twitter followers, students, callers and other partners have provided over the past several months. This spring, close to 5,000 e-mails were sent to legislators in support of restoration of poison center funding! These letters played an important part in preventing the closure of the IPC.
At the beginning of this year, federal support for the nation’s network of 57 poison centers was in jeopardy of being completely eliminated in the continuing resolution budget for 2011 – a crippling cut that eventually would have eliminated many of the nation’s poison centers, the IPC included. In the final budget resolution for the 2011 budget, 75% of funding was restored; not ideal, but enough to survive another year. Read more »
Everyday millions of people are bombarded with radio commercials, TV infomercials, internet ads, and aggressive sales pitches touting the health benefits (many of them unproven) of nutritional supplements. Warnings about potential adverse reactions, toxicity, food/drug interactions, and other precautions are often under-emphasized or absent. It is important to note that dietary supplements are not regulated by the FDA and as a result manufacturers do not need to prove safety or effectiveness. Read more »
For the second consecutive year, the DEA will coordinate a collaborative effort with state and local law enforcement agencies to remove potentially dangerous controlled substances from our nation’s medicine cabinets on April 30th , 2011. Collection activities will take place from 10:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m. at sites established throughout the country. The National Take-Back Day provides an opportunity for the public to surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications for destruction. These drugs are a potential source of supply for illegal use and an unacceptable risk to public health and safety. Read more »
Antidotes are sexy. We see it in James Bond and Indiana Jones movies: the hero has been slipped a lethal poison (usually, while he is wearing a tuxedo) and just in the nick of time swallows a vial of mysterious liquid that allows him to continue to save the day.
The word antidote can be described as the opposite or antonym of ‘poison.’ It comes from the Greek word antidoton, meaning ‘to give against’. A common misconception about antidotes is that every poison has one. Read more »
I can bet most of us have probably cursed and moaned while struggling to open a container with a “child-resistant” cap. Have you ever wondered how these enclosures came to be and if they’re really beneficial in preventing child poisonings? Since March is Illinois Poison Prevention Month, we thought this was the perfect opportunity to educate you on the history and benefit of child resistant closures. Read more »
Poisoning still remains a very serious public health problem in the United States. People encounter poisonous and toxic substances in their homes, communities, and work environments every day. Did you know unintentional poisoning deaths are the #1 cause of injury-related deaths for children ages 18-36 months and the 2nd leading cause of injury-related deaths for U. S. adults? Last year the IPC handled over 92,000 calls. Approximately 52% of those calls were regarding children age 5 and under. As part of our mission to reduce the incidence and injury of poisoning in our communities, the IPC uses the signature month of March to further spread the message of poison prevention to families and communities across Illinois. Read more »
Mr. Yuk is green, Mr. Yuk is mean! The logo and the saying are a part of poison prevention lore. Created in Pittsburgh in 1971 (yes, 2011 is the 40th anniversary of the iconic logo), it was to replace the more traditional poison symbol of the skull and crossbones . . . a symbol that did not deter the little Pittsburgh Pirate fans in the Steel City.
Mr. Yuk quickly developed a wide reach and has recognition value with adults who were children in the 70’s and beyond. However in the age groups most at risk for unintentional poisoning, 18 to 35 months of age, Mr. Yuk had no deterrent effect in this most vulnerable age group. More than one study cast doubt on the efficacy of Mr. Yuk as a deterrent in the 1980’s. Still, it is a symbol representative of poison prevention and poison centers for many. Read more »
So it seems we find ourselves coming upon the dead of winter-the holidays are over and spring seems light years away. You may recall in August we posted a piece entitled “Hot Summer Days and Medications: A Recipe for Heat Stroke” So we decided to do a companion piece dealing with cold weather injuries which are hypothermia and frostbite. No, this is not just another story about what to do when your child on a dare licks a metal lamp post on a very cold day. Extreme cold must be taken very seriously. An article published in the Chicago Tribune on January 1 reported the death of a Tinley Park, IL man, making him the 4th person in Cook county to have died from hypothermia so far this winter. Read more »
Every year like clockwork, the Illinois Poison Center sends out safety messages on how to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning during the fall and winter months. Since the heater was on in my house last night, the timing seems just about right for this year’s piece, especially since I had recently seen an article regarding carbon monoxide poisoned patients in our region a few days before.
This past week however, Illinois was pummeled with high winds and rain followed by unseasonably cold weather. The upcoming winter is also predicted to be one marked by severe cold and higher than average snow fall with some pundits calling this year to be a “wintry battle zone”. This made me think about the other risk factors in carbon monoxide poisoning – the loss of power during extreme weather and severe winter storms. Read more »
By Art Kubic, PharmD and IPC Call Center Specialist
It’s that time of year again! Fall is finally here. Time for pumpkins, corn mazes, apple cider, leaves (and the subsequent raking/leaf blowing), and one of my absolute favorite holidays—Halloween! With trick-or-treating season right around the corner, now is the time to start making plans to ensure your little ghosts, goblins, and princesses have a safe and secure time this year. Read more »
No, this is not our attempt to make shameless PG-rated “bathroom humor.” I haven’t conducted any studies nor am I equipped with any concrete statistics; all I have is my 30 years of observations as a certified toxicologist and those of other Illinois Poison Center call center staff. Yet I ask you to consider the following: the act of going to the bathroom provides enough time and opportunity for any adventurous and clever toddler to get into mischief, which may unfortunately lead to an unwarranted injury or exposure. Read more »
By Tony “Grandman” Burda and Grazina Janeliauskaite
Two recent developments have spurred us to address the importance of diligent poison prevention by grandparents of small children. On September 9 2010, the PEW Research Center released a report entitled “Since the Start of the Great Recession, More Children Raised by Grandparents.” This report revealed a surprising statistic that one out of ten children in the United States lives with a grandparent. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data, 41% of those children who live with a grandparent are also being raised primarily by that grandparent. Most notably, there was a sharp jump of 6% between the years 2007-2008 which corresponded to the first year of the Great Recession. Therefore, we feel the need to reach this burgeoning caregiver population with the message of being proactive about poison prevention and safety, is timely, relevant and compelling. Read more »
On September 25, 2010, the DEA will coordinate a collaborative effort with state and local law enforcement agencies to remove potentially dangerous controlled substances from our nation’s medicine cabinets. Read more »
By Erin Pallasch, PharmD and IPC Call Center Specialist
Recently, I set out on a quest to determine which would be the scariest berry ingestion a parent might call the Illinois Poison Center about. There are many toxic berries out there, but the one I would be most concerned with would be the Chinaberry. The ingestion of only 6-8 berries has been reported as fatal in a child. The good news is we don’t have any berries this toxic native to Illinois. Whew! Chinaberries have a large range of toxicity depending on the region they grow in and although these berries can be found in Hawaii, Texas and from Florida to Virginia, the fatalities reported have been from eating the African species. I’m relieved to know I am not likely to get a call about these berries here at the IPC, BUT we have plenty of berries native to Illinois to keep us quite busy. Read more »
Every holiday season brings forth its own set of poisoning hazards to adults, children and pets. The Fourth of July holiday poses unique opportunities for a Darwin Award. No matter what the holiday, one potential toxin guaranteed to be ubiquitous is alcoholic beverages. As Tony says, recalling the old proverb for this particular holiday: “He who drinks a fifth on the 4th, does not go forth on the 5th.” Read more »
Last week, a Chicago Mom Blogger posted her experience with the Illinois Poison Center (IPC). Accidental pediatric ingestions of potentially harmful substances make up over 50% of our calls in Illinois; we receive 40,000 to 45,000 calls annually regarding children 5 and under. There are over 1.2 million calls in the U.S. fielded by designated poison centers from this age group. It is an incredibly common story, but very often, an untold story. Read more »
A Poison Center means different things to different people
For a parent, it is a place to call for treatment advice if their child eats, drinks, rubs onto their skin or breathes a potentially harmful substance
For a doctor or nurse, it is the place to call for treatment recommendations for potentially poisoned patients in their care
For health educators, it is the lead organization for materials and assistance in providing poison prevention education in their communities
For researchers, our database is the place to come for trends and analysis for potentially emerging outbreaks to hazardous substances
At this time of year, as health care reform is debated at all levels of government and society, I think it is important to point out the financial value of poison centers. It is conservatively estimated that the Illinois Poison Center saves $50 million dollars a year in health care costs, or about $12 for every dollar spent on providing poison center services to Illinois. Not bad for a not-for profit with a $4.4 million dollar budget! Read more »
Half of the calls received by the IPC involve kids under the age of 6. Young children are naturally curious and explore their environments by touching and putting things into their mouths. They learn by imitation, their taste buds are immature and they do not understand cause and effect. Plus they are just small, so in many cases it doesn’t take much to overwhelm their little systems. The IPC recommends keeping all potentially harmful substances away from children, because just about anything can be a poison in the right amount. The following 5 things are in many households and it may surprise you that they can be so harmful. Read more »
During the holiday season, evergreen plants adorn houses all over the world. For the northern climates, the outside can be dreary, cold and devoid of life. Decorations of green-leaved plants and bright red berries add spark and life to our homes. Through generations of tradition, decorative plants such as holly, mistletoe and occasionally the yew plant provide a backdrop that helps bring the holiday feeling alive. Read more »
